So from what age do ECs count?

[studentp0x]

Pre-undergrad ECs or high school ECs only count if you continued them on into undergrad right?

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[Boolean]

Pretty much

 

[Catalystik]

There's no rule you can't list earlier experiences, but they are likely to be a waste of space unless you, eg, won olympic gold at the age of 16. There are other ways to sneak in HS volunteering or research, like mentioning it in the PS if it's relevant to your path toward medicine.

 

[Lucca]

It is known that adcoms use a 1/x^3 relationship with EC countingness vs Age to determine whether an EC will count. In order for an EC to count it must fall on or above the curve of that graph.

For example, if you completed an EC when you were 3 then it must have a very, very high EC Countingness Quotient ("No, ECs before undergrad don't mean ****", Robertson et al, The Journal of Incredibly Obvious Information) in order to matter. Alternatively, an EC with a low "ECQ" can improve an application if the age is much higher than usual for that EC, like a long-term research gig after you graduated college ("Non-trads have a harder time fulfilling basic requirements", Hudson et al, The Journal of the Admissions Metagame)


High ECQ at higher ages is even better because it combines life experience (ennui) with an important contribution to a community or society at large. In fact, the weight of an EC is the integral describing the space between the curve and the extremely high "Nobel Prize + Rhodes Scholarship" Maximum EC constant.

 

[jturkel]

Basically from birth

 

[Boolean]

It is known that adcoms use a 1/x^3 relationship with EC countingness vs Age to determine whether an EC will count. In order for an EC to count it must fall on or above the curve of that graph.

For example, if you completed an EC when you were 3 then it must have a very, very high EC Countingness Quotient ("No ECs before undergrad don't mean ****", Robertson et al, The Journal of Incredibly Obvious Information) in order to matter. Alternatively, an EC with a low "ECQ" can prove to improve an application if the age is much higher than usual for that EC, like a long-term research gig after you graduated college ("Non-trads have a harder time fulfilling basic requirements", Hudson et al, The Journal of the Admissions Metagame)


High ECQ at higher ages is even better because it combines life experience (ennui) with an important contribution to a community or society at large. In fact, the weight of an EC is the integral describing the space between the curve and the extremely high "Nobel Prize + Rhodes Scholarship" Maximum EC constant.

Would like again for the sole purpose of rewarding the effort put in.

 

[bakedbeans18]

When I applied to medical school, I mentioned in my applications my therapy sessions from when I was 9 years old, so lets go with that.

My OCD's conking me in the head, keep knocking, nobody's home, I'm sleepwalking, I'm just relaying what the voice in my head's saying...don't shoot the messenger

 

[LizzyM]

If what you did prior to college was a "big deal" then list it. A thousand guys list "Eagle Scout" although we all know that you have to complete it before you finish HS. If you were a national award winner (Spelling Bee, anyone?) that might be interesting even if you did not continue beyond 8th grade. For most garden variety experiences such as volunteering, one has to wonder why you did not continue beyond HS. Was it that the box was checked and you moved on, that the activity no longer interested you, or that you had moved on to other interests?